


After Curfew

by bunnybrook



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Awkward Dates, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-15
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2019-01-17 16:57:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12370056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunnybrook/pseuds/bunnybrook
Summary: Angeal and Genesis run into Sephiroth after curfew





	After Curfew

Genesis had insisted they leave their boots on, despite Angeal's protests. If they left their dorm in their socks, they were less likely to make as much noise, therefore less likely to get caught. But poor Genesis didn't want his feet to get cold so their boots were left on. And every step they took echoed back at them through the empty halls. Angeal wasn't sure where they were heading,just that Genesis had been so excited about it. He held onto his friend's hand loosely as they walked, watching the back of Genesis's head. He hated how Gen looked with short hair, he hoped he'd be able to convince him to grow it out again after they'd had some time to adjust to the city.

"Are you lost?" Angeal asked. Genesis made a noise like he was offended and shook Angeal's hand off. So the answer was yes. "What are you looking for?"

"Shut up," Genesis hissed. He held a finger to his lips, shush.

Angeal had already accepted the fact they were going to get into trouble. He wasn't sure what it would be,maybe extra laps during training, stricter curfew, less likely to be considered for SOLDIER. All of those things, probably. Both of the boys were getting into more trouble than they should be. But he didn't say anything back to Genesis. He waited until the other was calm again and resumed walking him through the maze of the Shinra headquarters. 

He wasn't that far off. He stopped them in front of the training room. Angeal looked at him expectantly. Genesis looked back. 

"Yeah?" Angeal said. Genesis made a start, smiling. He went for the keypad on the wall. "Hey?"

"I know how to get in," he said. "I can play whatever program."

"I don't think this is allowed," Angeal said.

"There's one for Banora," Genesis replied simply. "This is the date I said we're going on."

Angeal had no idea when he was promised a date but he wasn't opposed to the idea. He kept his eyes out for anyone coming down the halls while Genesis first unlocked the training room, then scrolled through hundreds of programs to find the one they were looking for. It was taking a while.

"I swear I saw it in here," Genesis whispered. He glanced back to Angeal to look for approval. Angeal looked back and smiled. Genesis hesitated to go back to the pad. He looked tired. 

Both of them had been more stressed than they ever had been before in the past few months. Angeal adjusted well to military life, Genesis not as much. Other than that, both of them itched in the city. Homesickness manifested in a physical fatigue, deeper than their physical exhaustion from training. Going home, even for a while, seemed like a relaxation nothing else could deliver. Genesis was still going through programs.

"It's past curfew," someone said behind them. Genesis froze, his finger pressed to the screen. Angeal dropped to a fighting stance, turning to who was speaking to them. A skinny boy, about their age. He was wearing a black sweat suit, long silver hair tied into a tight bun on the back of his head.

"I know," Angeal said. "We're just getting back to our-"

"Don't bother with excuses," the boy said. He shoved his hands into his pockets. "If you go now I'll make sure no punishment comes to you."

Genesis pushed himself to his feet. He looked at the boy, searching for what seemed so familiar.

"Thank you," Angeal said. He grabbed Genesis by the arm and tugged, a signal it was time to leave.

"Wait," Genesis said. "You're... Sephiroth?"

He just sighed. He didn't look like much out of uniform. He looked tired, his eyes were swollen and his shoulders hunched. He was barely taller than Angeal.

"You are," Genesis said. He stepped forward. "We saw you. When we got here.... Oh. Shit, I mean. I'm so sorry, we were just-"

"What are you doing here?" Sephiroth interrupted. "Late night training? It won't put you further ahead, it will just wear you out."

Genesis opened his mouth, obviously about to sass him, so Angeal stepped in.

"We're homesick," he explained. "There's a program in there set where we grew up."

Genesis gasped, as if Angeal had said something offensive. He held a hand up to his mouth. In almost a whisper, he asked "Why did you say that?"

"There's no point in lying."

"Oh, lying is dishonorable, is it?" Genesis snapped.

"It's just wrong," Angeal bit back. "It isn't honor, it's morals."

"Where did you grow up?" Sephiroth asked, pulling them out of their fight. Angeal and Genesis turned to look at him. He was standing up straighter now, just the shift in posture making him seem so much more threatening. 

"Banora," Angeal said. Genesis was back to staring in shock. 

Sephiroth nodded. He glanced both ways down the hall and pushed Genesis aside, punching the code in to activate the correct program. A green light flashed, indicating it was safe to enter the room.

Genesis pointed to where Sephiroth had put his hand while shoving him and mouthed, 'he touched me.' Angeal gave him a thumbs up.

"Here," Sephiroth said. "The simulation will run for an hour. I hope that's long enough."

"It's plenty," Angeal said. 

"Thank you," Genesis said. 

None of them moved. 

Angeal nudged Genesis towards the door, but it was obvious Genesis didn't want his time with Sephiroth to end. Sephiroth stood eerily still, as if he wasn't even breathing. Angeal thought about the timer slowly clicking down, getting closer to the end of the simulation while they stood in this awkward circle they'd made.

"Do you want to come?" Angeal asked. Genesis's eyes went wide, horrified at the idea. 

"I don't want to interfere with your reminiscing," he said. 

"No, it's fine," Genesis said. "It would be great, actually. We'd love it if you came in with us."

Sephiroth didn't smile, but he relaxed. "Thank you."

The doors slid open and they stepped into the orchards in Banora. It was night in the simulation, matching the time outside. A cool breeze made Angeal shiver. Apples hung from the trees, bright green leaves gave the wind a noise to it. This was spring, back home. He could even hear crickets from far off and, even more distantly, the croak of frogs. Genesis grabbed Angeal's arm, warming them both. He looked so soft at Angeal's side, relaxed and full of a joy Angeal hadn't seen in awhile. Angeal couldn't help himself, the euphoria of finally being somewhere familiar overtook him and he leaned down to kiss Genesis. Genesis kissed back, then pulled away suddenly, remembering they weren't alone.

"Oh," Angeal said, looking back at Sephiroth. "Sorry."

"I don't care," Sephiroth said. "What do you plan to do here?"

"Uh," Genesis said. Angeal gave him a disgusted look. "I thought it would be just us, okay? This is such a nice place and, really, just like back home."

"Do you know when to keep your mouth shut?"

"I'm not the one who just fucking outed both of us to SOLDIER First's Sephiroth... of all  _ fucking _ people."

"I'm  _ sorry _ ," Angeal insisted.

Behind them, Sephiroth laughed. "I don't care," he repeated. "I really don't."

"Please don't tell anyone," Genesis said, turning back. 

Angeal never understood Gen's modesty. They weren't even dating each other, just touch starved boys who could barely approach other people some days. If they found someone else, they weren't one to hold each other back. Genesis had taken a step back and there was a foot of space between them. Angeal wanted to desperately to reach out to him. But he respected Genesis and held himself back.

"I wouldn't," Sephiroth said. "I find my attractions tend to lean more towards the masculine as well.”

Genesis crossed his arms. He scoffed. "Why are you telling us this?"

Angeal turned to tell him off for being rude but Sephiroth answered before he could. "This is an intimate place for you. You invited me in  I thought I'd do the same for you." He looked up at the sky, enthralled by the stars. "This simulation is typically meant to train for stealth and agility. The orchard can be hard to navigate through quickly, as I'm sure you know." He sighed. "And there's a beauty here that many people growing up in Midgar have never experienced. It can be distracting."

In this moment, Sephiroth's stillness stood out against the whisper of wind through the leaves. Genesis shyly took Angeal's hand back in his own. Angeal rubbed his thumb soothingly over Gen's palm. He still couldn't understand what Sephiroth was getting out of this. Why he was awake and wandering the halls at midnight, why he looked so much like Angeal and Genesis did. Mid-adolescent and sad. On TV he was beautiful and menacing, a war hero. It was hard to remember he wasn't much older than them.

"Don't let me keep you," Sephiroth said. Genesis looked at him, then back at Angeal. "This is a date for you two, isn't it?"

"Well," Angeal started.

"Yes," Genesis finished, a tone that meant he wasn't ready to explain this quite yet. 

"Have fun," Sephiroth said.

Genesis hesitated then turned on his heel and ran off into the orchard.

"Will you be here when the program ends?" Angeal asked.

Sephiroth sat and leaned on the trunk of one of the apple trees. "Maybe." He closed his eyes. Angeal was pretty sure he wouldn't be getting anything else out of him for the time being so he turned and went after Genesis.

His boots crunched through the dirt and leaves on the ground, he had never thought of trying to be quiet in the orchard, it was always empty this late at night. Tonight, he couldn't help but try to take lighter steps after what Sephiroth had said. He slowed. When he walked, he managed to stay silent. He squinted, straining his eyes to try to find where Genesis had gone. 

Then an apple fell on his head. Angeal jumped back, his head snapping up to see Genesis sitting in a tree above him. He picked another apple and threw it. Angeal caught it this time. The place where the first apple hit him on the back of his head ached.

"That was uncalled for," he said. Genesis cackled.

"It was funny.” Genesis was still laughing. “Your  _ face _ .” Angeal laughed too. He grabbed onto a low hanging branch and pulled himself up, then higher to straddle a branch on the same level as Genesis, but on the opposite side of the tree. 

This was familiar. They were sitting like this when they had agreed to go to Midgar and train to be in SOLDIER. It was warmer, the end of summer rather than the middle of spring, like it was now. They had agreed in August and by September they were enlisted. They hadn't been talking much lately. They shared a dorm but they were too exhausted to even have a passing conversation most of the time. And Genesis loved to party, despite Angeal's efforts to keep him in check. He broke curfew more nights than not, sometimes his only excuse was that he was out writing poetry despite the fact he was obviously drunk or maybe high on something. Angeal just hoped he wouldn't lose himself in the wrong crowd and let the city corrupt him the way he heard happen in stories. 

"Why do you think Sephiroth wanted to come in with us?" Genesis asked. "I thought he never put his hair up."

"Maybe he was lonely," Angeal said. 

Genesis laughed. "I really don't think so."

"He looked lonely."

"No he didn't."

"You didn't look at him, you just admired him."

"That's so deep," he said, mocking Angeal. 

Angeal rolled his eyes. He grabbed the branch beneath him, then dropped down. It was obvious what he was trying to do, use the branch to catch himself so the drop wasn't as far, but it broke under his weight and he crashed to the ground, landing on his back.

Angeal stayed where he was, knowing Genesis had lived through worse. Gen didn't even make a noise, just stayed laying on the ground.

"The stars aren't right," he said. "This is a winter sky."

Angeal looked up. He didn't spend as much time studying constellation charts as Genesis (that is to say if Genesis glanced at  some once, Angeal had never seen on in his life) but he could tell something was off. He shimmied down the trunk of the tree and lay on the ground next to Genesis. It was cold but it felt too solid to be the earth of the orchard. There were still flaws in the simulation. Genesis rested his head on Angeal's chest. Angeal held him close.

"Do you ever want to go home?" Genesis asked.

Angeal didn't have to think of the answer. "No."

Genesis seemed surprised by that. "Really? Why not? It wasn't your idea to come here."

"I get homesick," Angeal said. "But I never want to go home. This is the best place I can be. If we can train to make SOLDIER, we can protect people. It's the best life I could live."

Genesis was quiet.

"Do you?" When he asked, Angeal started to play with Gen's hair, running his hands through it and wrapping it around his fingers.

"Sometimes," he confessed. "I feel young here. Not over my head, exactly. But... Midgar is endless."

Angeal hummed that he understood. They spend the rest of the hour like that. It was perfect, just holding each other, an occasional kiss between the silence. Nothing heavier, even though Angeal would be lying to himself if he said he didn't want to. That was for somewhere more private, when they had the luxury of privacy. 

When it was over, the simulation began to sizzle and crackle away from them. Angeal stood and helped Genesis to his feet and they made their way back towards the door as Banora faded around them to be replaced by an empty, blank room. This is what it felt like to leave, Angeal thought. His home disappearing to turn into an artificial room. 

When the room cleared it was empty. But Sephiroth was waiting in the hall. He had let his hair down. The black band he'd used to tie it was digging into his wrist. 

"I'm going to escort you back to your dorm," Sephiroth said.

"That's nice of you," Genesis said. His voice was starting to shake with exhaustion. "Thank you."

"If I'm with you then you have a better chance of avoiding repercussions for being out this late." Sephiroth put his hands back into his pockets and began walking. He had perfect posture and marched as he walked. 

Angeal could see the perfect SOLDIER in him. Even unarmed, he looked strong and dangerous. Angeal knew Sephiroth could kill him now. Sephiroth could trun and neatly fit Angeal's neck into the space between his thumb and pointer finger and after a while, Angeal would just stop breathing. He couldn't stop thinking about all of the people Sephiroth must have killed in Wutai. The line of thought made him feel disgusted with himself but all he had known about Sephiroth before was what he'd read and the small glimpses he'd caught when Sephiroth was in Midgar rather than on the front lines. And here he was, taking up as much space as a seventeen year old would normally take up. A warrior without his sword.

Next to him, Genesis was walking at attention. Sephiroth, despite everything else about him, seemed relaxed, so Angeal didn't see the need. Sephiroth walked them through the building, familiar enough with it to take them a more direct route than either Genesis or Angeal could think of. They did run into one group of people that looked to be scientists, but they fell quiet and let the boys pass when they recognized Sephiroth. 

"Why are you up so late?" Angeal asked once they'd gotten out of earshot of the scientists. It was the first thing that had been said between them. Genesis slowed to a halt behind Sephiroth, who had stopped in the middle of the hallway.

He sighed and said, "I don't sleep much." and resumed walking.

That only raised more questions for Angeal. He wasn't ready to give up. He could tell Sephiroth was helping them for a reason. This was technically rule breaking, the Sephiroth he knew from magazines wouldn't do that.

"Did you like Banora?" Angeal tried again.

"It was lovely," Sephiroth said. "I can't imagine growing up there. It must have been... peaceful."

"Not always," Genesis said. "It was boring. You would have hated it."

Sephiroth chuckled. "How do you know that?"

"I... uh..." Genesis almost tripped on his own boots trying to conceal his embarrassment. "I'm sorry for assuming..."

"I don't mind," Sephiroth admitted. "Who knows if I would have hated it. It's not where I grew up so I don't know what it would be like for me."

"I can tell you for sure that it was quieter growing up in Banora than it would be growing up in Midgar," Angeal said. He waited a beat to see if either had a reply, then asked his next question. "Where in Midgar did you grow up, then? If you don't mind me asking."

"Here and there," Sephiroth said. Angeal nodded but nothing more came. The uncomfortable silence that came with a lull in small talk came over the three of them. Genesis had relaxed, though, which was part of Angeal's intentions. It was safe to say Angeal had a good read on how Gen felt, right now he was almost bursting with excitement that he was standing next to Sephiroth, the Sephiroth, that Sephiroth had wanted to see some semblance of Banora. The only thing holding him back was how tired he was.

"What are you doing back here?" Genesis asked this one.

"I'll tell you when you're SOLDIER," Sephiroth teased.

Genesis put his hand over his mouth to stop too much of a reaction. Even Angeal was surprised by the sentiment. Sephiroth didn't seem like the type to joke around like that. So he was doing something right by breaking the ice. 

Sephiroth stopped them by the door downstairs, to where cadets were staying. "I'm in Midgar until Monday," he said. "Take care." Without any further farewells, Sephiroth turned and walked back down the hall they'd come from.

"Holy shit," Genesis whispered. "That was..."

"Weird," Angeal said.

"What?" 

Angeal put a finger to his lips. Quiet. "I just didn't expect that."

"Neither did I."

Angeal's head was starting to hurt from the bright lights and the exhaustion he felt. "But it was a good night."

"Definitely good," Genesis agreed. 

Angeal had a feeling sometimes that Sephiroth was going to steal Genesis away. It's part of why he followed Gen to Midgar. There was something about how he talked about Sephiroth, Angeal knew he couldn't discern his ideal self from the war hero. Genesis had never wanted to help anyone until he started reading about Sephiroth.

But his tired thoughts were carrying him away now. Angeal leaned forward and kissed Genesis on the cheek, whispered a quiet good night and left him to cool off, praying he'd make it to bed in a timely manner.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I know this is really bad but it's called self care sometimes you just have to write stuff like this
> 
> I kind of want to write more about these three but don't have many ideas for some reason. which is weird because I love them and i love thinking about this period in their life
> 
> anyway if you like it or have suggestions let me know!


End file.
